Like pretty much everyone else in this thread I'd vote Octy.

to be honest I'm surprised the badge issue still endures. i guess the first stage of attitide change has happened: people know Skodas are good now; the next stage is to make more people feel differently towards the brand. I think the Octy has won hearts and minds as a sensible, chunky family car, but maybe it still doesnt tick the glamourous box in the company car park.

Skoda UK don't help with their slightly frumpy downmarket brochures, with left-hand drive and sometimes non-UK specced illusrations

I've always assumed that the incredibly cheap looking brochures and website were a deliberate effort to make Skodas look cheaper, as part of VW Group's price differentiation policy.

Putting people off because of a downmarket image is part of the game, just as the Audi image works the other way. They get different types of people to pay different prices for the same product. It's the same principal as why the supermarket economy brands have ugly packaging.

If you just want a good practical well built car, then the trick is to see past it, but if you don't want to, if image (and details like nice glossy brochures) make you feel good, then fine - they'd be happy to sell you an Audi.

I think there's a lot of truth in what you say Mr H, not least the need to see past the promo.

What makes this complicated is that it's not just about brand diferentiation within the VW group. Ultimately VW Group wants to sell more Audis, VWs, Seats and Skodas (at the expense of other motor conglomerates not each other) so Skoda needs to esatblsih itself as a credible brand, not just a marque in recovery or as a budget VW, "budget" being a bit too close to the poor quality image Skoda has worked hard to shed. I suspect the goal is to fbe a value brand, not simply a cheap one, and to be a sensible choice for the un-image conscious where you get good quality and a bit extra for your money. I don't think the literature consistently supports this: shots in stylish locations are juxtaposed with LHD pics that look penny pinching and a bit disrespectful to increasingly savvy consumers.And sometimes Skoda seem to be dallying with a fun image: eg the cartoony features of the website and the cake car ad. It's a bit confusing

Anyway,just my amateur thoughts. I guess Skoda's communication team know what they're doing

I've always assumed that the incredibly cheap looking brochures and website were a deliberate effort to make Skodas look cheaper, as part of VW Group's price differentiation policy.

That makes sense.

My old flatmate is a graphic artist. About 20 years back she had a brief to design wine bottle labels, closures, etc for 6 specific demographic groups & pricepoints between $5 - $16. The wine that went in the bottles all came out of the same vat.:P

The motoring trade and in particular, the journalists , are mainly responsible for giving 'us punters' conceived perceptions when it comes to the so called 'badge snobbery'.

The fictional league tables for mainstream cars has been painted and priced accordingly.

Premium brands - BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar.

Mainstream brands - Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, Renault, Peugeot, Mazda, Nissan, Fiat

Budget brands - Skoda, Seat, Hyundai, Kia,

Have we have all been processed?

At least we know just how good Skodas really are. Any satisfaction survey also backs this up which is a lot more you can say for the likes of Fiat, Renault, Peugeot & Vauxhall.

Ten years ago I would never have considered a Skoda due to badge snobbery no doubt. It has been mainly due to Skoda's consistent top survey performances over the last five or six years that drew my attention to the brand, thinking that there must be something in this. After owning both a Fabia & Octavia, I certainly know why. Excellent cars and no longer one of motoring's best kept secrets - a mainstream brand at the very least and a badge to be proud of.

Good point about journalism. It's heavily reliant on cliches. Skoda's old reputation remains a common reference point even in a positive review. I tire of reading that Skoda is now a brand to be taken seriously or that badge snobs are missing out. It must be 12 years since the Octavia Mk1 started the Skoda rehabiliation and nearly 10 since the universally praised Fabia Mk1, and several highly regarded models since.

How long does it take to think of a new Skoda truism?

My third Skoda is on order!

To be fair, most if not all people on this forum are already converted and are therefore likely to buy a Skoda again. Presumably though, Skoda want to sell cars to those who drive other brands (even those in the VW group) but I think they are unsure which image to present. I believe they want to lose the budget image which is associated with inferior quality and emphasise the reliability and performance of the brand and they have come a very long way from the pre VW days.

However I think they risk losing some of the ground they have fought so hard to gain by penny pinching ideas some of which have been reported on this forum. Those who have decided to compare Skoda to say VW and Audi will notice that Skoda's are generally much less money for the basic specification and may wonder why this is. Then they notice things like Skoda's supply a tyre repair kit where the others have a proper spare wheel (even if it's a spacesaver). They may well then question what other things Skoda have done to reduce the cost and dismiss the brand out of hand.

To be fair, most if not all people on this forum are already converted and are therefore likely to buy a Skoda again. Presumably though, Skoda want to sell cars to those who drive other brands (even those in the VW group) but I think they are unsure which image to present. I believe they want to lose the budget image which is associated with inferior quality and emphasise the reliability and performance of the brand and they have come a very long way from the pre VW days.

However I think they risk losing some of the ground they have fought so hard to gain by penny pinching ideas some of which have been reported on this forum. Those who have decided to compare Skoda to say VW and Audi will notice that Skoda's are generally much less money for the basic specification and may wonder why this is. Then they notice things like Skoda's supply a tyre repair kit where the others have a proper spare wheel (even if it's a spacesaver). They may well then question what other things Skoda have done to reduce the cost and dismiss the brand out of hand.

Actually Skoda are quite late in the day in dumping the spare wheel. My 09 Octavia has a full size matching alloy, which pleased me, whereas my 2006 Honda Civic (first of the current shape) came with a can of gunk and a compressor. That fact was probably the second most raised posting on the Civ Info forum site by disgruntled owners. Honda's reasoning was more boot space & less weight equals lower emissions and improved mpg. Since most manufacturers have now taken this route, I believe that customers should be given the choice - gunk or spare.

Two penny pinching things I recall with current Skodas concerns the Fabia. Their flagship model, the Fabia 3, has 'keep fit' rear windows, sill protectors sold only for the front doors and drum rear brakes (except the Tiptronic). It appears that rear passengers are only second rate citizens!

Ten yrs ago i probably wouldn't of considered a skoda also,but not because of the badge snobbery,but because well they just didn't build a car then that appealed to me.Even now if it wasn't for the vrs i wouldn't of got a skoda.kinda was getting tired of having subarus after 4 yrs of keeping one eye open while im sleeping,or having to put all kinds of security on everytime i parked it up.Drove past the skoda dealsership one day saw the vrs and it just caught my eye,and for like 3 weeks it was on my mind to go back and look at it,so i did.Taken a white vrs out for a test drive i say white because ive never seen another white vrs 08 plate onwards,was really suprised how it drove and the acceleration just how it was alround,next thing i know i bought it,obviously i did test drive first the one i was actually buying incase the other one had been chipped and what not.

Actually Skoda are quite late in the day in dumping the spare wheel. My 09 Octavia has a full size matching alloy, which pleased me, whereas my 2006 Honda Civic (first of the current shape) came with a can of gunk and a compressor. That fact was probably the second most raised posting on the Civ Info forum site by disgruntled owners. Honda's reasoning was more boot space & less weight equals lower emissions and improved mpg. Since most manufacturers have now taken this route, I believe that customers should be given the choice - gunk or spare.

Two penny pinching things I recall with current Skodas concerns the Fabia. Their flagship model, the Fabia 3, has 'keep fit' rear windows, sill protectors sold only for the front doors and drum rear brakes (except the Tiptronic). It appears that rear passengers are only second rate citizens!

I haven't done a survey with other manufacturers but both Audi and Volkswagen advertise a spacesaver spare wheel on their websites, I don't know what SEAT do. I'm not convinced that saving weight and increasing boot space is the real reason for not providing a spare wheel. I would expect the savings in weight to be virtually negilgable and the bootspace would only be practically increased if it was designed without the wheel well and had a more usable space instead. I think most people are convinced it's more likely to be an economy measure.

It's a similar story with ESP and rear curtain airbags which are optional extras and I think have resulted in the Octavia only recieving 4 stars in the NCAP rating where many other makes have five.

I haven't done a survey with other manufacturers but both Audi and Volkswagen advertise a spacesaver spare wheel on their websites, I don't know what SEAT do. I'm not convinced that saving weight and increasing boot space is the real reason for not providing a spare wheel. I would expect the savings in weight to be virtually negilgable and the bootspace would only be practically increased if it was designed without the wheel well and had a more usable space instead. I think most people are convinced it's more likely to be an economy measure.

It's a similar story with ESP and rear curtain airbags which are optional extras and I think have resulted in the Octavia only recieving 4 stars in the NCAP rating where many other makes have five.

Wonder if by omitting a spare wheel and replacing it with gunk has ever actually placed a car into a lower VED banding - doubt it?

The Octavia as you state has a 4 star NCAP rating which is mainly due to ESP being omitted as standard fit.

So where does that leave the vRS, L&K & TSi DSGs which all come with standard ESP? The L&Ks also have standard curtain airbags. It is a similar story with the Fabia/Roomster Tiptronic, they also has standard ESP together with rear disc brakes.

Perhaps my TSi DSG is a 5 star NCAP !

To have 5 stars now, you need knee airbags along with all the other bits they demand.

To have 5 stars now, you need knee airbags along with all the other bits they demand.

Plenty of 5 star cars out there that do not have knee airbags - one of the latest to score 5 is the Fabia sized Hyundai i20 which have full curtain airbags & ESP.

It is overall that counts, adult & child occupancy, pedestrian safety as well as built in safety such as ESP etc.

The Octys weakest rating was on pedestrian safety but that was in 2004 and not on the current facelift.